The primary elements of an existing intelligent network are a switching system, a signaling network, a centralized database, and an operations support system which supports the database. In general, the switching system intercepts a call from a call source, and suspends call processing while launching a query through the signaling network to the centralized database. The database, in turn, retrieves the necessary information to handle the call, and returns that information through the signaling network to the network switch, which may be a local digital switch, so that the call can be completed. The operations support system administers the appropriate network and customer information that resides in the database.
The intelligence of the intelligent network is found at the service control points. A service control point is an on-line, real-time, fault-tolerant, transaction-processing database which provides call-handling information in response to network queries. The signaling network is made up of signal transfer points. A signal transfer point is a packet switch found in the common-channel signaling network. The signal transfer point is used to route signaling messages between network access nodes, such as switches and service control points. Signaling System 7 is a common communications protocol used in common-channel signaling networks.
In existing intelligent network architectures, including advanced intelligent network architectures, the call source is usually connected to the local call processing system before the call destination is connected. Further, when the call destination and the call source are linked together by a talk path, the local call processing system is not immediately aware of the connection because the interface may not be capable of conveying supervision information. As such, sometimes a call source is able to establish a talk path with a call destination without any record being made such as, for example, a billing record.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a method and system for conveying supervision information to a call processing system that overcomes the problems and limitations of the prior art.